Sam McCulloch
A manual transmission is defined as an automotive transmission consisting of a system of interlocking gear wheels and a lever that enables the driver to shift gears manually. This guide will be teaching the conventional five shift gear, and is intended for anyone who can already drive an automatic transmission, but cannot operate a manual transmission. These instructions will cover how to properly start the car, drive the car, and park the car with a stick shift, in chronological order that one might attempt when operating a vehicle. One may be advised to go slowly and patiently through these steps.
All warnings and safety issues will be labeled in red.
ATTENTION: This guide is written under the assumption that the user will be starting in a position to drive forward, rather than having to reverse out of a parking space.
Pictured in Figure M.1 is the stick shift. One must start in first gear, and move up to second and beyond, sequentially as they increase in speed. Correspondingly, a driver much “shift down,” meaning move from a high gear to the next lowest gear (i.e. from 5th gear to 4th, from 3rd gear to 2nd) when they are decelerating. When the stick shift not in any notch, the car is in neutral.
The clutch is pictured at the far left. This is the pedal that drivers will use to control the gear shifting. When pressing in the clutch, the car goes into neutral, making it possible for a driver to manually shift the gear. Only change gears if the clutch pushed in.
The dashboard is the same as in an automatic car, but the tachometer, or RPM gauge, is much more important to pay attention to in a manual car. The speed gauge is on the right, and the RPM gauge is on the right. The RPM (i. e. the Revs Per Minute) must stay preferably below 3.5 for the good of the car’s engine, and above 1 in order to avoid stalling out.
Getting Started
The same as in an automatic car, begin by adjusting the mirrors and seat to personal specifications and buckle up.
WARNING: When learning a stick shift, you need to be in an empty, large space.
Turning on the manual car
Push in BOTH the clutch (Fig M.1) and the brake before turning the key in the ignition, and continue hold them both in.
First Gear
Once the car is on, move the stick shift into first gear by keeping the clutch pushed in and moving the stick towards the driver’s seat and then towards the radio, into to notch labeled ‘1.’ Keep the clutch pushed in still, but release the brake. If you move too quickly, you may experience your engine stall out. This occurs when you brake without pushing in your clutch, or when you try to release the clutch too quickly when you want to start going.
Moving forward
Very slowly release the clutch. While slowly releasing the clutch, slowly press down on the gas. This should be a very slow give and take. Release the clutch at the same slow rate as pressing the gas. At this point you may find yourself stalling out. Just take it slow and keep calm in this case. For the sake of the car, always want the RPM (Revs Per Minute) to stay below 3; do not exceed 5-10 MPH in first gear.
Second gear
Once you have fully released the clutch and are moving slowly in first gear, press in the clutch again. Quickly shift out of first and back into neutral. Now you should be slowly moving forward and in neutral. When driving a stick shift, you always want to move one number up or one number down; never skip a gear or you may over time destroy your engine. Shift into second gear, the gear that is closest to you and away from the radio. Slowly release the clutch. Slowly press on the gas as you release the clutch. Second gear is for 5/10 MPH to around 25 MPH.
Third gear
Third gear, much like second and third, requires the driver to push in the clutch, move the stick shift up and over to third gear, and to slowly release the clutch. As you reach third gear, the risk of stalling out is much smaller, therefore the careful give take of the clutch and the gas pedal is no longer necessary. Just slowly release the clutch. The risk of stalling out is higher when you are moving below 20 MPH. In third gear you should expect to be somewhere between 25 MPH to around 40 MPH, but really at this point in the drive, you should pay more attention to the RPM; stay between 2 and 3 (Figure M.3).
Beyond third gear
Fourth and fifth gear act much like third gear. Employ the same process to switch up gear; push in the clutch, shift to the higher gear, and slowly release the clutch. Stay between 2 and 3.5 RPM in these gears.
Gearing down
The process to decelerate is similar to the process to accelerate. Brake until your RPM is closer to the 2 than the 3, push in the clutch, gear one number down, and slowly release the clutch. The process remains the same until first gear.
Coming to a complete stop
Whenever you come to a complete stop, you much push in your clutch. If your RMP falls below 1, you are at risk of stalling out. If you keep your clutch pushed in you will not stall out. If you are waiting at a red light, you may push in the clutch, brake to a complete stop, and then shift into neutral. To shift into neutral, you pop your stick shift out of whatever gear it is in, and leave it in the center, where it isn’t engaged in any gear.
The following set of instruction will illustrate the safest way to change a flat tire step-by-step. After reading this user document, the reader should possess all knowledge necessary to change a flat tire without any supplementary assistance. This document was written with respect to those who have no prior knowledge of ever changing a tire.
The instructions will be organized mostly in bulleted and numbered lists, doing so will cause the user to read each list item. Also, to catch the user’s attention warnings will be highlighted in red while cautionary notes will be denoted in yellow.
ATTENTION: Failure to follow the provided instructions could result in serious injury or fatality. If these instructions are followed exactly, less time will be wasted waiting for roadside assistance, and you could be back on the road in no-time.
Figure M.1 - Scissor Jack
Figure M.2 - Floor Jack
Figure M.3 - Lug Wrench